Euro 2008 LIVEBLOG: Greece vs Russia

GROUP D	June 14, 2045 CET, Salzburg (Austria)
Greece 0 VS Russia 1   Zyrianov 34′

Full time. Greece is done. Russia can beat Sweden and book their spot.

90+2′: The Russians have the ball and 30 seconds to go. This one looks over, and it is. Greece will not defend their title.

90+1′: 2 minutes of stoppage remains for Greece. Can they pull a David Villa? They don’t quite have a Villa, or even a Ramos. Pavlyuchenko has a gilt-edged chance at a walk-in goal, and misses high.

90′: That lineman is a bit … umm … completely blind. That most recent one was certainly not offside for the Greeks.

89′: Russians are holding possession, doing what they need to do, while still keeping the ball in a spot that can be threatening. Nice work.

88′: Another useless foul for the Greeks, and another promising spot for Russia. They play it out through Saenko, and waste some time on the way to a goal kick for Greece.

86′: 5 minutes and change left in the Greek title defense. A tip in from the Greeks is deemed offside. Let’s the replay.

84′: The Russians are completely afraid of taking an attacking ball on the run. They seem to be instinctively turning back every time they get the ball in a promising spot around the box. I wanted to see more in the way of teeth to the Russian offense.

83′: Zhirkov has a chance, and puts a bit of mustard on that one. Not a bad attempt at all.

82′: Stupid foul for the Greeks. A very short free kick opportunity for Russia.

81′: Weak header goes straight to Akinfeev. On the counter, Zyrianov is unable to make the cross. Good defending, but also not taken terribly well from Konstantin Z.

80′: Roman Pavlyuchenko with a fine defensive header from the free kick. Well cleared. But its another corner for Greece.

79′: Now its Greece with a dangerous free kick. They are known for this - stealing points from set pieces. Can they pull off another miracle. My money - No.

78′: The ref has a soft spot, apparently, for the boys in red. Very very soft foul call there.

77′: That’s what happens when a defender takes a set piece. Cough John cough Terry. Sorry - JT - you know I love you.

76′: Kolodin taking the free kick. Weird.

75′: The Russians make a very promising looking move down the center, and win a free kick in a spot that could be dangerous. They want to put this one away.

74′: Zhirkov is down, and after the game he’s had, it would be a massive loss. Looks like no more than a little knock, though.

72′: Greece doing some work to make me eat my words about last chances. Nice bit of play for them, but still, even when they show a split-second of offensive creativity, their finish fails them. The Russian central defense is still quite vulnerable.

The best chance so far for the Greeks:

70′: Saenko is on for the Russians.

68′: Scary moment for Russia. The corner was always going to be the biggest danger for them, and a well placed one is headed almost in. Well taken by Akinfeev. That could have been the last meaningful chance for Greece in this tournament - we’ll see.

66′: Theofanis Gekas takes a shot, forgetting that it’s his own keeper who’s a bit long in the tooth, and his long-distance shot is no match for the young and athletic Akinfeev.

65′: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov goes down hard twice in a span of one minute. He doesn’t appear to be badly hurt, but he doesn’t exactly look spritely either.

64′: A couple of chances in a row for Russia, as Nikopolidis continues to prove that it’s not only his hair that has grayed a bit since 2004. He is not the same keeper that shut down Portugal and France.

60′: Gekas on for Liberopoulos. That should be a very positive move for Greece. Pavlyuchenko again forgets he has mates, and just doesn’t have enough to take it on himself.

Just a note: This is the last match Russia will need to play without their striker, Andrei Arschavin. They will have done well to go three points without him, and will have a huge boost against Sweden when he returns from suspension.

57′: Pavlyuchenko goes far post this time with his shot, but its just wide. Clooney was well beaten.

56′: A bit ruckus in the box, but the Russians can make nothing of it. It’s getting a bit difficult to find new ways of saying “but it comes to nothing”. Any ideas?

55′: Best chance that Greece is likely to see. The captain, Basinas, shoots it high on an off-balance first touch. This could be a match after all.

54′: Greek corner goes into a sea of red, and they win another. The Greek attack is absolutely swarmed. Russia counters poorly, and it’s going box to box now.

52′: Roman Pavlyuchenko takes a shot he didn’t need to take, and hits the close side netting. He has help, and totally ignores it. No reason to go close post.

50′: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov does well to end a promising Greek move down the right wing. Greece need to change something if they are going to create a real opportunity. Right now, they’re sticking with the “Hope for a set piece” plan.

49′: Zyrianov makes an unnecessary foul and sets up a Greek set play. If they score, this is how they’ll do it. … and Semak flicks it out for a corner. Or a goal kick, depending on whether you can see. Apparently the ref cannot.

47′: Zhirkov is the man of the match by a mile, sending another great ball in to Pavyluchenko. The ensuing corner just forces another, and again, the finish is poor.

46′: The Russians get off a shot, and Clooney falls down on it. No word yet if he’s broken his hip. Sorry.

46′: We’re back, as the Russians kick off, needing only to not concede. Against Greece. Russians, buy your champagne early.

The lack of excitement in this match has led to some interesting side conversations, including one about Adrian Healey’s “Dutch oven” comment in yesterday’s Holland-France match.

Well, since there’s not much to analyze at halftime, let’s talk brackets. If Russia holds on for the win, Spain is officially in the quarterfinals, and Greece becomes the first defending Euro champ to go 0-2 in the opening of their title defense. They will be eliminated as well.

Here’s the goal from Zyrianov. Check out the bicycle kick assist from Semak, and the awful gaffe by Niko.

45′: Zhirkov tries one more cross, but again, no one for it. He has been the man for Russia so far, and has no competition from the Greeks for man of the match. That’s halftime. Considering that Andrea Pirlo got MOTM for the Italy-Romania match, it could be anyone.

45′: The Greeks go for it, through Kyrgiakos but he’s offside.

44′: After winning the ball nicely, Patsa sends a ball in to no one in particular. The Russians are looking really questionable in the back, and Greece has to be taking some hope from hit.

42′: Karagounis takes out Semshov, and that’s the first yellow of this rather slow match.

41′: Semak shows some defending, making a perfect tackle. The ref calls it a foul, and one wonders if he goes and drinks with the ref that called Luca Toni offside.

Is anyone reading the liveblog. Does anyone care about Greece or Russia. ECHO. Echo. echo.

39′: Charisteas has a chance, but he totally whiffs it. A sub already from Greece, and Giorgos Karagounis is on.

On the replay, the goal was set up from a LOVELY assist from Semak. Great work.

38′: Zyrianov had a shot at a brace, but it was taken weakly. The Russians have all of the ball now.

37′: Russian corner - Zhirkov’s corner is decent, but there’s no finish from the Russians. They do manage to win another corner.

The early shot from Pavlyuchenko:

35′: THAT. THAT is why I picked you, Zyrianov. Pick up the easy goal, after horrible keeping from Nikopolidis.

33′: Clooney is caught out, and a lovely flick over him sets up Zyrianov for an easy kick in. GOAL RUSSIA.

30′: Long boot from Patsatzoglou goes straight to Akinfeev. Awful dive from Zyrianov. That’s not why I picked you to my fantasy side, Konstantin.

29′: Kyrgiakos gets called a bit harshly on a 50-50 header in the midfield. Zhirkov is doing well to get crosses in, and here’s another. So far, no one has been on the end of it. Tell me this team doesn’t miss Pavel Pogrebnyak and Arschavin.

28′: Sergei Ignashevich goes for a long service down the left, and the whole of the pitch is sacrificed by the Greek defender, who goes too safe and heads it out when he could have cleared forward.

26′: Roman Pavlyuchenko goes for a long shot, maybe a smart move considering the hesitation Nikopolidis has shown, but Ol’ Clooney takes it safely. Both sides are making some totally unnecessary fouls.

25′: Dellas gets his first real bit of room in the Russian side of the pitch, but again, not much to write home about.

23′: Dangerous back and forth between Clooney and a Greek defender, but they eventually get it out. The Greek attack … god that sounds weird … ends in another goal kick for Russia. Their change of tactics has resulted in no more real threat so far.

22′: The Greeks are attacking like defenders, mobbing the opposing player and then passing long, even when they’re in the attacking third. To be fair, the Russians are doing the opposite, and defended that last Greek free kick like a team of strikers.

20′: So close from a free kick for Greece. Charisteas was the hero of Portugal, but so far in SwissAustria, he has done nothing at all. That should have been a goal for Greece.

19′: On the strength (?) of their loss to Sweden, Greece would be out with a loss today. Russia would still technically be alive, no matter the result, but they’d need a win over Sweden.

17′: Zhirkov makes a cross in from the left, looking for Torbinsky but it just misses his foot.

16′: Vasilis Torosidis is given a nice bit of room on the left side, and sends in a good ball to the center. Liberopoulos falls quite easily in the box, no penalty called. On the counter, there’s a shout for a handball. Again, that won’t be a call.

14′: Close on the counter for Russia. Clooney looked more troubled by it than he should have been. The ensuing corner ends in a long shot from Zhirkov, but it’s well wide. Not great in terms of accuracy from the boys in red today.

13′: A promising move down the right for Greece. Nice little cross, but Akinfeev handles it well.

12′: Soft free kick given to the Russians. Refereeing errors in Euro 2008 - now there’s a drinking game with lethal consequences.

10′: The Russians are in no hurry. When the ball comes out and they don’t like what they see, they’re more than happy to just put it back to Akinfeev and reset. They must know they won’t need more than a goal or two today. Just as I say that, Bilyaletdinov takes a long left footed shot. Miss.

9′: Semak with another high boot. The Russians certainly aren’t afraid of being acrobatic, but there’s nothing coming out of it but fouls.

8′: Hey look - it’s a long ball from the Greeks that ends harmlessly in a goal kick. Drinking game, anyone?

6′: Semshov puts in a bit of dangerous play, putting a boot into the face of A Greek mid. The Russians take over from a wasted Greek free kick and build slowly.

5′: Zhirkov up the left wing nicely, but it ends in a foul and a Greek free kick from Nikopolidis.

4′: Charisteas does some nice defensive work, booting one out to touch.

3′: First save for George Clooneypoulos .. er … Nikopolidis. He’s not afraid of going gray, and at some level we have to respect that.

2′ : The Russian move down the left flank draws a foul, and it’s Zhirkov with the free kick. Well taken, but no dice.

1′: The opening move from Greece ends without worry in a goal kick, but a poorly taken one, and Greece has it back.

We’ll see if Liberopoulos can do anything in the lead striker position for Greece. I like that 4-1-4-1 formation from Russia. We’ll see if it works. Here’s kickoff.

So far, the Russians take the early lead in hot fans. Let’s see how the Greeks respond.

Teams are coming on to the pitch, accompanied by the wee ones. The players have to know that the loser of this match is done, and that neither did enough the first time out to deserve anything else. If Russia wins this one, it sets up a great last-day match against Sweden.

The various flag teams are on the pitch. Tommy Smyth calls Pavyluchenko for the winner, and for once, I have to agree. I’m going 2-0 to Russia, Pavlyuchenko and Zyrianov. What’s your call?

Getting another look at that David Villa goal. Absolutely lovely ball in from the Spanish left back, and a great finish from Villa. Four goals in two days out for Villa. Amazing stuff.

And yes, Laurie. My watching spot is, indeed, a pub. Biggest tellie in town. If you happen to be in Corvallis, the Corvallis Sports Park is the place to be today.

-15′ : The lineups are a little misleading - it looks like Greece is starting a 4-3-3, but it’s more a 7-1-2 in reality.

-20′ : We’re about to see if Euro holders Greece can avoid the fate of Denmark, the last team to come from nowhere and win the European Championships, who dropped out of the group stage the next time around. The Russians will be a tough side for Greece to break down.

-25′ : Thanks to Laurie for subbing in for me before this match and posting the lineups. I’m here now, a bit sweaty from this lovely west coast weather. Let’s get going.

-30′ And here are the lineups:

Greece:
Nikopolidis;
Torosidis, Dellas, Kyrgiakos, Seitaridis;
Patsatzoglou, Basinas, Katsouranis;
Amanatidis, Liberopoulos, Charisteas.

Russia:
Akinfeev;
Anyukov, Kolodin, Ignashevich, Zhirkov;
Torbinski, Zyryanov, Semak, Semshov, Bilyaletdinov;
Pavlyuchenko.

-45′ Good evening/afternoon/morning, and welcome to the Greece-Russia liveblog. I am not Ian. This is Laurie, filling in till Ian can get to his game-watching spot. Rumor has it that this game-watching spot is a bar. And rumor has it that at this same bar yesterday, a male fan took off an article of clothing for every Netherlands goal scored. And he was wearing flip-flops, no socks.

Toward the end, I hear that it was getting a bit frightening.

Fortunately, Greece games tend not to be terribly high-scoring, so I think he’s safe today.